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Big pause between posts - been busy sorting lots of non-bass related stuff!! One main thing I've been doing is sorting my garage. I moved house a couple of years ago to a place with the luxury of some garage space I can use for a workshop. It gets cold in there, there's weren't enough sockets and it was full of boxes of stuff that needed sorting. So after lots of work I now have a warm and tidy area to work in and lots of space to move the bigger tools like my planer thicknesser around. I also converted an old Workmate into a stand for my router table and that has worked out a treat. There's still a couple of jobs to do, such as painting the walls and sorting a some tool boards, but this is where I am at: I've now got the semi hollow bass back on the bench and off we go again!! And I'm excited as it been a while and I have a few ideas that I'm going to try on this. Cheers

Good lord! I'd forgotten there were bass players under 50!

Bongbros

Damn… 😍

@AndyTravis well having tried the bass I got for Andy I just had to get one and as luck had it a bassist in Co Durham had 2 and this tangerine one was going begging so here she is..

A lunchtime finish from work and lovely weather! I've made a start on the fretboard for the fretless bass. Someone must have done this before but I haven't seen it which means either it hasn't been done much or it's a bad idea for reasons I haven't found out (yet)!! After chatting with Frank a while back the idea of using aluminium for the lines on the fretboard came up. I tried it on a sample of ebony and it looks lovely!! There is something about how it catches the light that makes it really standout. So that's the plan for this fretless build - full length wraparound aluminium lines. Just figuring out how to that on a full board and the order in which to fit them!! In the meantime, I've slotted the fretboard and cut the required strips of aluminium. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Cheers

another top notch gig, quite a small crowd but really good vibes got a few more coming up soon

St Pat's night gig at the Blue Lagoon in Bristle lady night. I've played there before and it was steaming, expected great things, but it was oddly quiet. A few groups came in drank danced cheered then left. The venue didn't help by leaving the dance floor full of tables. Still, no complaints from me, a Thursday gig is free money.

So recently ive sold a lot of my ‘big’ gear leaving me with a lovely valve combo, my 75 Jazz and a few big amps yet to shift. Its the first time ive been without a P bass in years and wanted one to string with flats to leave for house jamming. I initially looked at the lovely 40th Anniversary squiers but then this popped up fairly local on Facebook . The thing is like brand new! Fret work is really good, spiral saddle period correct bridge, gold guard, decent sturdy tuners and my fave P bass colour combo. Sounds great stock but will defo be getting some flats and (when i work out how to drill the guard) a period correct tug bar. Amazing bass for the price! Will update as we bond further but the thing that gets me instantly is the eveness of the sound/tone both up and down the fretboard but also across all the strings -very even, smooth and buttert

The Bongo Bros!!!

If you ask the audience to name your band you'll end up being called Bandy McBandface. True fact.

I love Ovnilab... Am I right...

Gig number 2 with Last of Our Kind, this time at the Wyggeston in Burton on Trent. Atmosphere was great, which isn't unusual in this pub! Sorted the feedback issue with our new sound system, so it was a loud, clear gig. Again, we've been asked back, and the manager was extremely happy with us- so much so we got paid more than what we'd asked for! This time though... we played no one knows by QOTSA, and my bass cut out as soon as it got to the solo! Complete silence. No drums, no guitar, no singer and no bass... A quick "Oh shoot, hold on guys" down the microphone, a quick kick of the pedal board, something clicked, and carried on with the solo. Worked a charm- crowd loved it! I certainly skipped a heart beat though. I think it's time to retire that bass guitar... (Not the Yamaha in the picture)

I loved the Sire V7 fiver I had a few years back and only sold it out of feeling guilty at spending a lot on a US Stingray. I love jazz basses but maple fretboards don't work for me, I also think the Sire preamp is fantastic. I was looking for a four string but it was somehow cheaper to get the fiver off Thomann. It arrived less than an hour ago. It looks great, the picture I've taken doesn't do it justice. The sound is very pokey, very jazz bass, excellent. I tried a US Jazz recently and felt let down a bit, active Sire jazzes are for me just so much more flexible, and still very rich in their sound. The rolled fretboard edges are nice, you know they there though it's not something I'd now insist on with any other bass. The ebony fretboard looks very dry and might need some oil. The battery compartment is NOT quick release which I'm not happy about. However, can't wait to unleash it. Wedding gig coming up a week on Saturday and this bass will be the one used.

These are lovely basses. I got the orange one that was doing the rounds recently; love the neck on it, weight is just right, balanced perfectly. Please excuse the kids toys and general chaos!

I am such a sucker for anything aluminium or brushed steel, especially against natural wood, there is something very 70s about it, which, in my book, is a very good thing indeed. So excited about this. As soon as I got the Jabba spalted bass home my other basses have just languished in the rack. To have matching fretted and fretless basses and the spalted as a backup... well, it's a dream! Having owned a Jabba bass for a few months now I can confirm that not only are they works of art they also play as good as they look. Man I can't wait.

Don't underestimate the number of people who think professional is better than what they can do, so must be better than what you can do. My guitarist has recommended his tech to me several times for me to get a 'proper' set up as 'it's a complicated thing to get right'. These are the kind of people who call out the AA to change a wheel on their car.

quite simple but it works for me, trace Elliot which I got for free off my drummers neighbour and a fender distortion pedal

The area of cross section isn't the key factor when it comes to stiffness. It is the depth. The neck works a bit like a steel 'I' beam - the deeper it is, the less it's going to bend As the construction of a standard neck and fretboard at normal neck depths is plenty strong enough to counteract the tension of the strings, then this means you have a huge amount of leeway of how much wood you take off the 'haunches' either side of the spine. This affects the feel (the 'chunkiness' ) and the weight...but not the stiffness. Stiffness for a timber neck will be predominately affected by: the total neck depth; the neck and fretboard timber species; the trussrod and slot; any stiffening inclusion, such as carbon 'rods' (the most effective being actually not rods but solid or hollow rectangles where, again, the depth, not the width, is the critical factor)

Still No Name is a good name for a band. 😂 Dave

Lined… …and loaded, grilled and cornered: It's done! A labour of love and no mistake: it would have been way less effort to build a new one from scratch, and probably no more expensive (I'd have needed to buy a few clamps, but on the other hand I've killed a battery on the cordless sander in the process of doing this one), but it's really satisfying to know that I've given the original cabinet a new lease on life. And I'm really pleased with how it sounds and looks! If I can make it along to a Bass Bash at some point I'll be sure to bring it along. Thanks once again to everyone involved in the Basschat designs and the valuable discussion around them, and everyone who's helped me out on here with advice, information and components: I somehow feel I have an extra incentive to do the thing justice now by playing as well as I can and as much as I can through it On that note, here it is with the amp and bass, which I hope will be seeing lots of each other:

Another parcel arrived today Kerchiiiing !!

size isn't everything!

New PJB C2 purchased to use with my Kala but the Tony Franklin PJ sounds good as well!

I have the Empress and Cali76tx. I like the Empress, sounds great, but as mentioned above, it's a little more of a clinical compressor. i.e. it's not colouring the sound much if at all. The Cali76 does add more colour in a nice way, especially when running at 18v, which is when the TX kicks in. Special mention to the Durham Sex Drive, also sounds lovely to my ears. Can you tell i spent more that a few hours reading all the Ovnilab reviews a few years ago? 😂

Got the Boss WL-50 on the board now. Only temporarily as I’m changing it all onto a Nano+ on Monday, so I can mount a CS6 power supply underneath

I’m so inept I consider calling them out to put in diesel….

I think that’s where my money would go in this situation.

It would help if you could tell us why you didn't get on with the Helix, because of all the multi-effects I have owned IMO it's by far the easiest to use, most versatile and for most effects the best sounding.

Reverb is number one? Do people actually buy from it? I've never seen one affordable item there.

Or a huge amount of experience with a very limited number of species. I don't really trust luthiers who use too many species in their builds, they can't or don't guarantee any particular outcome tonally. Unless they use loads of laminates and then the outcome tends to lack character.

Agree, and also adding a bit more to the price because its recently had a ‘professional set up’ 😏.

Yes - it does. And here you can play some tunes (if you excuse the pun). You can take a stiff timber species for the mains and bendier splices or vice-versa. You can add a touch of warmth or a touch of grit. Mind you, judging the best combinations takes a hefty dose of guesswork... But there's a maker I seem to remember who market this with loads of choices of mixes of timber for necks on their custom top line (is it Warwick? Can't remember. Someone here will know).

I blow hot and cold with Jeff Berlin stuff, Dad. I think his Low and High Standards albums are icky and there are certain tracks on his recordings that do nothing for me but every now and then he does something that I can get excited by. Whatever else you can say about it, you can always hear the bass parts!

Try this link, don't know if it'll work but try it WINDOWS: https://accusonus.s3.amazonaws.com/public/products/era-bundle/current/ERA_Bundle_v6.2.00-VoiceChanger_v1.3.10-WIN.zip MAC: https://accusonus.s3.amazonaws.com/public/products/era-bundle/current/ERA_Bundle_v6.2.00-VoiceChanger_v1.3.10-MAC.zip

I've always wanted to name a band "Free Beer".....

Absolutely

Paid rehearsal is how i view some gigs. Dave

I have a confession to make. A secret so extreme, so perverted, so "unusual" that you may be shocked, even horrified. I don't believe in "tone wood".

I could have bought a Hofner violin bass from the 60s rather cheaply about thirty years ago. I didn't, because it was so utterly dreadful to play.

Something just popped up on one of my Facebook feeds… ” UNLIMITED LOVE ALBUM REVIEW! A friend (who has asked to remain anonymous) is writing a review of Unlimited Love for a well-known publication. Here are his early thoughts on some tracks on the album. Some of these are responses to my questions, some are his first impressions. I'm curious to see if I can recognize these descriptions in a few weeks' time when I hear the album myself! (I suppose these count as spoilers, and of course - take them with a grain of salt.) General impressions John's background vocals: "I don't know about him doing 3 part harmonies or whatever, but you definitely know John's there." Anthony's voice: "Almost identical to The Getaway. Makes the weird voice on Black Summer all the more noticeable: that's as weird as he gets." "So far more bassline based songs than John songs, which surprises me." "A good amount of piano and organ on the album." "I feel like literally every song came from a jam. Doesn't seem like many chord progression based songs." "You're gonna feel like 'This feels like the album between BTW and SA' or 'This feels like the scrapped album before BTW.'" "I feel like Anthony took a back seat on this album. And it was just like, Flea and John hugging each other and high fiving every song." She's A Lover is a definite standout. "Super catchy and the bassline is dope." The album feels like SA and BTW B-sides. "It feels like they picked up where they left off." And some specific songs... "She's a Lover"A "Almost disco." "These are the Ways" "Like Love Trilogy but instead of 3 weird funk reggae things, it's New Wave / Punk / Hardcore. Like RHCP doing Green Day at times. Comparable to Mini-Epic / Kill For Your Country in a way." "Whatchu Thinkin'" "The weirdest bassline, in a good way... Like Flea was doing a John Cage player piano piece... Like he's imitating the Tetris soundtrack. Weird and different and in my opinion good." "Bastards of Light" "More punk moments." "White Braids & Pillow Chair" Reprise featuring the words "California..." "One Way Traffic" "Like an SA track. Halfway between Storm in a Teacup and Save the Population. The breakdown in this... to their credit, they are trying new things." Features a bass solo from Flea. "Let 'em Cry" "Another disco-y song." "The Heavy Wing" "It sounds like a drum machine. Hip hop intro, ballad verse with a Jane's Addiction beat, and then John punk chorus. This is insane. These pieces fit... melodically but not stylistically. Back to the hip hop intro as a bridge, then a guitar solo over a new progression. I'm not complaining but this song structurally is perhaps a tad not RHCP-ish. "Tangelo" "A Beatles tune in disguise. Like John writing a John Lennon song with AK. Just acoustic guitar, no drums. Ends with 30 seconds of background noise. A ballad not similar to many other RHCP songs." (NB: it seems like the NME was right about those two songs sounding unlike anything the band had done before!) Source: https://buttondown.email/rhcpsessions/archive/me-and-my-friends-41-early-impressions/?fbclid=IwAR2V2G54EGvrqq8KtDVNE46C4yukLsQqNG8kPTjk5Az7FRePBc-7OSmdq9o” Hopefully the album has some good stuff to offer…

I think the forum has a 'sales portal'. I entered it not long after joining. A magical place full of basses where willpower, restraint and financial self-control get left outside. Ahhhh sales portal... My love for you will never die. 😍

… in other news, whoever needs a pick guard can rely on Brian Pillanz (I was passed details thanks to @Dov65). Half price compared US options and great fit. The below is a 3 ply b/w/b matt guard:

The thing that makes me laugh the most is the "I took the £300 Aguilars out and put in a £300 set of Nordy's as an upgrade. So the price is £300 higher because of it" "Are you including the Aguilars?" "No" 🤡

Pickups, bridges, electrics unless for eg you have a real noise problem ...out in the mosh pit or studio make not a jot of difference by the time ur signals gone thru an amp, or sound guy or producers twiddlings and found its way into the brains of the music loving public Aftermarket bridges make no discernable changes to anything other than the way you feel. I'll even fit the vintage Fender scroll bridge to my basses cause that crude simplicity is actually real good...looks cool too Best upgrade there is for bass playing happiness, and by the way its totally free............Practise.